2072: Game World, IC thread for 2072: Recruitment always open! Options

[AStarshipforAnts]

[16:03 January 1st, 2072; TransGeni laboratories at 68th Avenue and Kenmore, Downtown]

Dahlia’s smile lingered Mr. Watson left the room, not quite grasping the fact that some of what she had just said could have been construed as a subtle form of intimidation. She had what she wanted, at least in terms of a semi-regular source of lucrative income. And there would even be a job within a few days. Naturally, the dwarf’s negligence in regards to politeness was completely lost to Dahlia. Who knew if Watson would attribute that to a strong polite streak or some form of mental instability? Eh.

“I’ll make a few calls,” the woman affirmed, snapping her bag shut. She exchanged the usual pleasantries with Mr. Reynolds before the meeting concluded, giving and receiving the appropriate com-codes for later contact. And after leaving the TransGeni laboratories, Dahlia actually did take the time to take care of a handful of household errands. And it was only after those errands were done and Dahlia had started contemplating calling Sage that she even thought about calling Seti about the job opportunity. After all, she had worked with the sniper before, and it would be easier to work with someone familiar for at least the first job from her new employer. Dahlia checked her comlink’s clock, 20:18, and made the call.

“Seti, we’ve got ah-amel. But, this is a team-level job. Find some people,” Dahlia could hear some background noise through the comlink as the sniper replied.

"I think I may have found just the folks. I'll give you a call,” he said, before ending the call. Excellent. And that was taken care of. Now for the conclusion of her evening. Dahlia dialed Sage’s number.

[Suicidal Street ...]

[20:18 January 1st, 2072; Club Penumbra, International District, Seattle]

"Also freelance, but I get some work every now and again." Seti looked pointedly at the bodies lying on the floor. "You handle yourself well. I wouldn't mind having your help on a more...permanent basis." He glanced at Silver, standing over the body of the barback. "That goes for your friend, too. Can always use a mage by our side."

As if to punctuate his statement, Seti's commlink chirped. Looking at the AR, he saw that it was Dahlia. His stomach started churning lightly. Oh god. What now? "uh, Hold on." He picked up the line.

"Seti, we've got ah-amel. This is a team-level job. Find some people."
"I think I may have found just the folks. I'll give you a call."

Seti looked at the ork, and smiled.

"...stupid ugly motherless son-of-a-dog, you...."

"Maria!" Jesus Christ, this woman! "That's enough, huh? C'mon, let's get you home."

As he and Maria walked out the door, he surreptitiously beamed his contact info to the two other fighters.

[unsound]

Seti:

Maria turns to you as her cab pulls up to the curb, an expression of regret on her face.

"Um...listen, I had a good time tonight, and you seem like a good guy and all, but I really don't think this is gonna work out. I prefer someone a little more laid back, you're kinda a bit too intense for me. I think we should just be friends, what do you say?"

She pinches your cheek and coos. "You take care of yourself now, cutie pie! Someday you will make a lucky girl very happy! Byeeeee!"

She steps into the taxi, and like that, she's gone.

[Red_Cap]

Roadie walks out of the club, ignoring the good-natured back-slapping he got from some of the more appreciative folks in the crowd and came to stand next to Seti as his walking boob-job got into a cab and left. He chuckled.

"No luck for you tonight at all, eh bub?"

[Aria]

"Hullo, little sister," she says. "How's the New Year treating you?"

Being called little sister by a glowing ten year old always amused Silk and immediately lifted her mood.

“It’s good to see you A, I’m ok, just finished an assignment and decided to stop moping and see what the night had to offer…fancy trying the Citadel again? I know it’s not much of a challenge for you but it keeps me on my toes and I could do with something like that…”

Aria replied with a cheeky grin “Sounds ok to me…I promise not to cheat too much! Do you mind if another friend joins us? You’ve not met her before but I promise she’ll be good company…calls herself Summer…she’s a technoshaman from south of the city…bit shy and she’s only a kid really but then I know you don’t mind kids!”

“Of course, that would be fine…” Great, another one who can do shit with the matrix that shouldn’t be possible, ah well, Silk knew that her skills lay elsewhere and she doesn’t really have anything to prove to Aria or anyone else…at least for now, perhaps tomorrow she should start looking for work again…

…but now’s time to have fun…

“Race you then…” and with a flash of light her icon exited the node for the Citadel game zone…she wasn’t really surprised to see Aria and an Alice in Wonderland icon waiting for her when she got there…

[Combat Mage]

The barback was on the brink of death but Silver managed to pull him back just in time. But it took a heavy toll on the mage. He crashed to the floor hard as the the vast energies he needed to gather to stabilize the ravaged body hit him with the backlash. Slowly pulling himself up again the white-haired elf looked at the results of his effort. The man was still heavily wounded and needed mecial care but he wasn't bleeding any more and seemed to be out of immediate danger.

Shakely rising to his feet and gesturing for a bystander to call an ambulance, Silver saw the strange couple walk out the door, where the large-breasted girl blew the guy off. A smile of disbelief appeared on the elf's face. He was to intense for her? Wasn't she the one picking fights with armed criminals?

He noticed the guy had sent him his contact information, which identified him as Seti. It looked like Silver had managed to find some shadowrunners after all. Maybe he could work a bit with them, get deeper into the scene, develop some contacts. He would do absolutely everything to find the faintest trace of Aurora.

But first he needed to get some sleep.

[unsound]

Dahlia:

Your commlink patches the call through to your favorite joyboy, who picks up after a few rings.

"Hello baby doll, how are you? Haven't seen you in like forever. Busy creating a super virus that will threaten the very survival of metahumanity, I'd bet. Bad, bad girl."

Silver:

The healing spell took its toll on your body, and you know you'll be feeling the hurt when you wake up tomorrow morning, but at least you've pulled the young man out from the danger zone. Someone gives you a congratulatory slap on the back, and you turn to find the bartender standing behind you, smiling from ear to ear.

"Well done, son! That was some mighty slick mojo you pulled there. You saved my boy's life, I owe you one. Arigato gozaimasu! You come in here on my shift, all drinks are on the house, you hear?"

[AStarshipforAnts]

[16:09 January 1st, 2072; Pedestrian intersection, Downtown]

When Sage answered, Dahlia had reached a busy intersection in front of a shopping center--just another face in the sea of metahumanity. A wide smile tugged at her lips as the joyboy spoke. No doubt most of Sage’s knowledge of science came from cheesy trids and the occasional matrix game. And perhaps Dahlia had joked about being a mad scientist to the extent that he seemed to be under the impression that it was an elaborate in-joke between Dahlia and himself. But, it was so funny how close his teasing came to the truth. Dahlia took a cursory look around the intersection. At that point, Dahlia should have looked just like any wageslave. And she didn't have any reason to believe that someone might be tailing her, and nothing illegal on her person. But, the woman reasoned that she should remain in the habit of checking her surroundings. From what she could see, on the surface the crowd was completely composed of the tired workforce of Seattle--in all its varying shapes, sizes, flavors and metatypes. But, nothing out of the ordinary. Still talking, the woman continued to examine the crowd milling around her.

“What if I have been?” she asked, letting a pause settle at the end of the question before continuing, still a part of the flow of people around her. “I’m taking a little break from the lab right now, you know,” Dahlia let the end of that sentence trail off. Sage could pick up on the insinuations; after all, it was part of the job. Still listening to the call, Dahlia made a note to run a few sample swabs over the escalator rails in the nearby shopping center in a few days. After all, it never hurt to have a backup culture or two, if only to round out the samples in the lab and provide some variety. After all, she'd be doing serious work, soon. And someone might eventually get suspicious if the same strain was left at the scene of a few crimes. She'd need a full stock.

A bad, bad girl indeed.

[unsound]

Silk:

It's been awhile since you've visited the Citadel...with the dark cloud that's recently settled into your life, you just haven't been in the mood for mass produced entertainment lately. But misery only begets more misery, and it does no good to wallow in the past...it is the New Year, after all, and you're in the company of friends. As usual, this corner of the Matrix is teeming with enthusiastic gamers hopping from one virtual reality playground to another, competing with one another to earn a spot on the leaderboards. You discover that the Citadel has unveiled a new game from its repertoire since the last time you were here. With a few quick Matrix commands, you access the game's description text to see what it's all about.

Have you ever wanted to be a shadowrunner? Do you have the skills it takes to survive as a professional criminal, a deniable asset used by the megacorporations to sabotage and undercut the operations of their competitors? There's only one way to find out if you would survive in the shadows, and that's to play Shadow Ops. A new game developed by Ascendant Studios, Shadow Ops is one of a kind, a fully interactive virtual world where you take on the role of a shadowrunner and embark on missions given to you by a mysterious employer known only as Mr. Johnson. Shadow Ops is programmed with some of the most advanced artificial intelligence on the market today, and each mission is designed to challenge you, the player, in all your faculties to see if you have what it takes to be a professional criminal-for-hire. Gamers who place on the leaderboard will receive a special award from the founder of Ascendant Studios himself. What are you waiting for? Play Shadow Ops now!

Hmm, what do you know, a game where you might actually be able to beat Aria for once. A quick glance at the activity log shows that this game has been immensely popular week over week since its release.

[Suicidal Street ...]

"No luck for you tonight at all, eh bub?"

Seriously? I mean, SERIOUSLY? Seti was blown away. He wasn't the one who had started a fight--a firefight, at that--with connected criminals. Hell, she isn't even that interesting...but the blow-off still stung.

"I guess not. Geez." At least I don't have to meet her cat. "Tell ya what. Let's head back inside, and I'll buy you and Silver some drinks, and we can discuss business. I'm pretty sure we'll need to get to know each other better, anyway," and thoughts of Dahlia--Dahlia got a job without me...she's becoming more terrifying every passing day--holding test-tubes and wearing a huge, horrifying grin flew through his head. "If this upcoming job is as...involved as I'm afraid it's going to be. For one, we should talk about where to get a respirator that'll fit you."

[unsound]

The word on the street...

"Psst, hey fella, didja hear? There's some smokin' hot young gun shaking up the underground cage fighting scene, scoring upsets left and right like nobody's business. They say he moves like flowing water and punches like an avalanche, but all that zen bullshit aside, ain't no one be denying that this boy is wicked good at his trade. Rumor has it, he ain't packing nothing that the man upstairs didn't give him...got no metal in him, and some of our more magically inclined sources swear he's not awakened either. No one knows how he's doing it, but he's doing it, taking down the biggest and meanest fighters in the Seattle pits like a stack of dominoes, one after another after another. Everybody's puttin' their money down on this kid...he's gone eleven oh so far, and no one knows when his hot streak is gonna burn out, but you better cash in on it before it does."

[Solon]

[21:01: Friday, January 1, 2072: Shitty 2nd Floor Walk-up above a "Massage Parlour", 192nd and 5th Ave, Loveland, Puyallup]

A broken alarm lies scattered in a hallway as a lean form rolls heavily out of bed.

Well that was smart, now I get to buy a new alarm.

Groaning as he stretches Doc hauls himself to his feet and says a silent prayer his food processor wouldn't avenge the alarm by denying him caffeine.
Heading to his "kitchen" he hears the muffled sounds of Loveland through his dirty and barred window. Music from the dive bar on the corner, street vendors trying to sell cheap knockoffs to young soldiers from the Fort, whores defending their corner from would-be interlopers, gangers revving their engines and readying death for each other over a dirty streetcorner.

At least they aren't my problem until Tuesday. Man I have got to get them to quit putting all my shifts for the week on the same damned day.

Pouring his hot soykaf into a mug half full of whiskey Doc slumps into a threadbare armchair and checks his messages.


Nothing from Skuzz, figures that worthless Trogg wouldn't have found me any work. Probably works for Tamanous the way he reacted when I told him no more jobs moving organs.

Flipping on the trid, highlights of the Rose Bowl play as Doc considers his mug thoughtfully.
I have got to make some better contacts. He glances out his window at the neon signs and filth below. That's not going to happen here. I need to find a place to see and be seen. He winces at the coming realization. Time to go clubbing. (muttering)"Dammit."


... twenty minutes and a quick shower later Doc is headed out the door and on his way to the metro station down the block watching people around him try to hide their desperation behind bravado and boisterous partying.

[Combat Mage]

Every muscle in Silver's body felt stretched and torn from the strain of the powerful spell but he pulled himself together and gave the bartender a smile. "I'm glad I could help. Your apprentice will feel this day for some time but he should be completely fine after a week or two in the hospital."
Aching he set down on the now empty table that Seti and his date had been occupying earlier. "I really could use a drink now..."

[Karoline]

New Years Day, a marker of new beginnings, of new challenges and opportunities... of new audits.

"Ouch! Hey, what's going on?! What are you doing?"

"Damn slitch, you're lucky I'm just tossing your ass on the street. Not a fuckin' real payment in three months. You think I wouldn't notice those payments never went through?"

"Not my fault if my bank is a pain. I'll call them, tell them to make sure it goes through."

"How stupid you think I am? I already checked, fuckin' account doesn't even exist. So get out of here before I decide to take it out of your hide, instead of just your stuff."

Mask scrambles around on the ground, hands groping as though looking for something in the dark. Eventually she finds the steps, but by then the door has slammed loudly, followed by the audible click of the lock to keep non-residents out of the complex. She gives a sigh, rubbing her backside where she landed hard on the concrete. "Guess that means it's time to move." she mutters to herself. She keeps her hands on the building, and slowly makes her way around it, into the alley next to it, her progress slow as she takes very careful steps, her bare feet touching the ground softly first to make sure she isn't stepping on anything sharp.

Eventually she reaches a dumpster. She crouches down next to it, having to lie flat to reach underneath it "Come on..." she gropes around, looking for something. She doesn't seem to find it, slowly crawling under the dumpster "This is really going to..." she starts, right when her hand finally falls on the small tote bag. She gives a sigh of relief as she pulls herself back out from under the dumpster. 'I need to remember to put clothing in here next time.' she thinks to herself as she stands up, reaching into the bag to pull out a pair of sunglasses and a small metal rod. She puts on the glasses, even though it is the middle of the night, covering her remarkable eyes. The rod she holds in her left hand and gives a flick, causing it to extend into a poll several feet long, allowing her to use it like a cane, waving it in front of her just over the ground, occasionally tapping it as she makes her way back out of the alleyway.

She certainly stands out, even in a world where vibrant multi-color hair that moves is common. Her long pure white hair currently has some gunk in it from the alley, causing it to mat on her right side, her only clothing is a light, white nightshirt that barely reaches her thighs and is far too thin to be remotely comfortable in the cold January air, and already has several stains and a distinct smell about it thanks to crawling under the dumpster. Her bare feet cringe at the frigid ground, and her sunglasses and walking stick speak of a blind person in a world where cybernetic eyes cost next to nothing. She went from living the high (Or at least halfway decent) to looking like a homeless person in five minutes flat, though to be fair, she is now homeless.

"I need to get off the street, quick." she murmurs to herself. She's young, around 16 or 17, and quite pretty, and this isn't exactly the safest part of the city. Being dressed as she is, people might get the wrong idea, and being blind, people might think to take advantage of her. She stops before continuing out of the alleyway, remembering to pull a pair of gloves out of her tote bag and put them on after blowing into her hands to try and warm them up. Ready, she begins to walk along the sidewalk in a random direction, moving slowly so as not to step on anything, but trying to look purposeful, despite not yet having any clue where she should go.

She pulls up some various sites, posting requests for a place to stay for a couple days.

[Aria]

Silk smiled to herself and warped her icon over to the game entrance zone, with the look of advanced urban decay and even the evocative smell of wet cityscape, this seems to have been well designed.

“Heh Aria, this one looks good and its getting rave reviews…how about we show these noobs how it should really be done, I could do with a bit of tension busting!”

“Sounds ok to me” Aria looked around the node and then laughing, morphed herself in to a huge orc samurai in antique armour, halberd in hand and a light machine gun slung over her back… “as long as I don’t have to play entirely by the rules… Why don’t you take the ninja and Summer can play the mage?”

Silk paid the small deposit and morphed the game avatar over her icon, testing the edge of the monoblade with her digital thumb and catching the coppery smell of blood.

“Great, let’s go and see what Mr J has to offer an enterprising trio”

[Abschalten]

[16:10 January 1st, 2072; Everton Suites 6A, Seattle]
Ultima pushed the last of her boxes into the corner of her new apartment, though new only to her; this building had obviously been built well before she was born, with all the foundation cracks, peeling paint, and musty smells of things ancient and forgotten to go with it. As a plus, it had at least come with some scant furnishings - a ripped synthleather couch, a small table and a chair in the kitchen, a bedframe sans mattress in the bedroom - though the quality of them left much to be desired.

The woman had caught a glance at the news during her abrupt move. Though relieved the police seemed to be taking a hands-off approach to the case, doubtless she would be suspect numero uno if they ever changed her mind. She was a SINless illegal immigrant with a checkered past and a dubious skillset. There probably wouldn't even be a trial. She'd just vanish into the system like bad paperwork, never to be seen again. Well, Ultima wasn't going to let that happen.

I'm away, now. Need to keep my head down and my eyes open. Hopefully I can stay away from whoever is going to miss all that product.

Ah, yes. She'd had to trade some of it - a few pills here, a handful of doses there - to get enough help on-the-fly to move so suddenly. The cred she'd obtained on Enrique's credstick had helped, but most of that was gone after various expenses and the initial deposit on this place. She had enough Psyche and Red Mesc to get her fixes when the cravings came calling as they did, at least for a time. But how long would that last?

The hispanic woman walked over to the double doors at the far end of the apartment. They opened out onto a balcony just as her previous place had. However, the view from here wasn't of a delapidated, rotting neighborhood on the doorstep of hell, but of the ocean some distance off. Maybe a mile from the docks, she could see over the ships and cargo containers out to the seemingly endless stretch of blue-green ocean that disappeared off into the horizon. This close to sunset the sun was a molten orange ball getting ready to take the plunge into that oceanic abyss. Gulls circled and wheeled overhead, occasionally giving their whistling cries. With a satisfied half-grin, she walked back inside the apartment to lift a box she'd set out of the way, then brought it back outside.

This is a nice place. Maybe I can work to keep it.

She opened the box and pulled out some electronics, wire, and a some explosive charges. When she was done, anybody who climbed onto this balcony unannounced and unwanted would simultaneously find it dropping out from underneath them while ball bearings tore holes through their flesh, assuming the blast didn't send pieces of them flying out onto the streets in the first place. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure after all.

The woman worked mechanically, like a programmed automaton, not thinking about the task she was doing as she had done it so many times before. Letting her muscle memory take over, she concentrated on composing a voice message to her fixer, Abdul.

<<Assalamu alaikum, Abdul. I have not heard from you in ages. I was wondering if you had any jobs suited for me lined up, or if you've heard any word on things that need doing. I am in need of work and thought you might know of something. And many blessings to you for the last "present" you had for me. I put it to good use when it was needed. You are a reliable associate and I speak well of your name. I hope to hear from you soon. Ultima.>>

[unsound]

Dahlia:

Two days later, you find yourself sitting at a conference room at TransGeni labs, after receiving a summons from Mr. Watson through your commlink earlier that day. You wait patiently for the dwarf, your thoughts wandering to your home experiments as you idle, wondering about the next new cocktail you're going to synthesize for your pet pathogens. A few minutes later, Watson walks in through the doors, brisk and ready for business. He activates the holo-projector in the middle of the conference table, and turns to you as the corporate logo of Evo shimmers into the air.

"Okay, listen up. TransGeni has a number of facilities throughout the greater Seattle metroplex, each with their own research and developmental focus. One of these facilities is located in Northgate, and they specialize in genetic engineering and bionics, with an eye towards combat applications. Essentially, they're the quarterback for TransGeni's super soldier program, and they're responsible for filling orders from client organizations for biologically enhanced shock troops or augmenting their existing soldiers with top of the line bionic implants."

He pauses. "Have you ever heard of the Shadow Wars? It's a corp-sponsered urban gladiator game where shadowrunners and gangers and mercs compete with each other in a battle to the death for a five million dollar jackpot. Grisly stuff, but you know how Joe Wageslave likes to get his rocks off by seeing other people kill each other for money and glory. Anyway, TransGeni is fielding its own team for the Shadow Wars this year - the grunts at marketing came up with the idea, said it was an opportunity for us to showcase our product for potential customers. Problem is, the team we're supposed to sponsor broke out of the facility last week, and we have no idea where they are. I want you to track them down and bring them back. Our net came down pretty fast once we discovered that they're gone, and I doubt they've had time to leave Seattle, so they should still be in the city somewhere. They're trained to split up when they go to ground, so you'll have to hunt each of them down individually. Does this sound like something you think you could handle?"

[Solon]

[21:05: Friday, January 1, 2072: 192nd and 6th, Loveland, Puyallup]

Walking with a purpose for the metro station with hunched shoulders, Doc attempts to master the look of a man unconcerned but aware. Mostly he looks like a man who really wants to get out of the cold as soon as he can. He glances as a go-ganger with unfamiliar colors goes roaring by on some souped-up hog.
I need to learn who's who around here, and fast. Maybe Skuzz can set me up with a decent Knowsoft to...
Doc thoughts trail off as he nearly collides with a young woman stepping from an alley. "Hey." Turning his head to see who he nearly collided with he notices three things, she is young, very young, she is blind and she smells like the alley she just stepped out of.
Keep moving Johhny-boy, this ain't your problem. She just one more desperate person in Puyallup, you've walked by a dozen since you left the apartment
Of course, they had winter clothes on, and weren't teenage elves in a neighborhood full of thugs and pimps, and they could all see
Taking on other people's problems ain't your job though. You're barely treading water yourself, now you're gonna start taking in charity cases? You do enough on your shifts at the hospital. Your in no shape to be taking in strays.
Doc watches as the girl tugs on some gloves and rubs her hands together to warm them against the cold.
(muttering)"Fuck."
Good boy, John.
Yeah, sure. Real good, so much for making contacts tonight. At least I don't have to go to that god-awful Penumbra.
Tapping the girl cautiously on her shoulder as she begins taking a few tentative steps Doc clears his throat.
"Excuse me, miss. You look like you could use some help... or a jacket", looking down, "...or shoes."

[Karoline]

[21:05: Friday, January 1, 2072: 192nd and 6th, Loveland, Puyallup]

Mask turns her head to face Doc when he taps her on the shoulder, and looks a bit frightened, she takes a step back, nearly tripping over something, and holds up her cane in front of her, placing her free hand on it as well. "Don't..." she starts, but stops when he speaks. After a moment she relaxes, lowering her arms. Despite being unable to see, she managed to face the newcomer fairly directly. "Oh." She stands on one foot for a moment, rubbing one foot against the top of the other to try and keep it warm.

She seems to be weighing up her options, and Doc or would be, if she wasn't now looking about two feet to his side. Finally she replies in a small voice "All three would be nice." Her cane finally reaches the ground again, making a slight 'clink' sound as the metal hits concrete "Maybe somewhere to stay?" she says hopefully, adding "Somewhere warm." Though he didn't know it, she'd only been outside less than ten minutes, but her toes were already losing feeling, heat being sucked away by the unforgiving ground.

[Karoline]

[Appearing on a Trid screen near you]

A large explosion fills the screen, followed by the sound of automatic weapons being fired. Anyone experiencing the ad with simsense feels the heat of the explosion, tastes the tang of gunpowder on the air, and gets a sense of fear mixed with adrenaline. A voice speaks, easily decernable over the continued din of battle "Are you looking for true excitement? Are you tired of the fake entertainment of Hollywood?" A death scream punctuates the pitch, vision shaken by explosions slowly settling on what looks like an abandoned street that just saw a small war being fought. "Are you bored with the timidness of Urban Brawl? Are you ready to see something that will really get your heart pumping?" Simsense uses experience just such a feeling as their heart beings to race. "Then get ready for the greatest sport to ever hit the Trid. Get ready for: Shadow Wars." a rush of adrenaline mixes with a cooling sensation as the street grows brighter, and dark letters appear on the screen Shadow Wars, tilted so as to look like they are being cast by something that cannot be seen.

"Watch as teams of elite combatants," The screen flies over to what looks like three paramilitary soldiers sneaking through woods

"hopped up wannabes," vision now flies to three gangsters, standing out in the open, rather unwisely as the soldiers get closer

"devious shadowrunners," vision pans around to a building, zooming in on one of the upper windows, through which a man in a black trenchcoat stands, a sniper rifle pointing towards the two previous groups

"and everyone inbetween fights it out in an abandoned city" Flying away from the impending battle, the camera gives an eagle eye view of what looks like a partially ruined city, vegetation claiming parts of it.

"for an astounding prize of 5 million nuyen! But teams won't just have each other to watch out for. Enforcers will be roaming the city as well, and while usually neutral, they are worth a million nuyen bounty for any brave enough to take down one of these elite combatants." Vision fades for a moment, and then a person in armor that would make military units cry appears, fear floods those with simsense. The armored person hefts up what looks like an assault cannon with ease, despite so obviously not being a troll, the barrel pointing right at the camera.

"And even the viewers will have a chance to participate." The terrifying figure fades to black, and is replaced by a family, children included, sitting in front of the Trid. "Vote on your favorite Players to give them additional prizes, or perhaps even special help from a handy air drop. Order in the next 5 minutes, and we'll add in our Player Eye^tm feed for no additional cost."

While shorter ads appear, this full length one still shows up quite often. It seems whatever company is behind this is keen on getting a large audience. A node has of course appeared to allow people to purchase various viewing packages. Everything from the most basic package which allows viewing of the eagle eye drones only, to the most premium package which includes full access to every camera out there, including simsense hookup where available. Somewhat harder to find so that people don't click on it by mistake, is a signup node, allowing potential Players to view the rules and sign up as individual contestants, partial, or full teams. There are several pages of disclaimers about how Shadow Wars^tm is not responsible for lost of life or limb, among a number of other things.

[Solon]

"All three would be nice. Maybe somewhere to stay? "Somewhere warm."


"Sure, let's get you off the street."
Doc takes her hand in his and moves to the street side of the pavement. Old habits kick in along with his Reflexes. The world slows down as Doc scans the block and a half ahead. Carefully, but steadily he leads the young woman down the block, eyeing the drunken soldiers and pimps as he passes them by. The whores on the street corner give him a wink and a knowing smirk. It doesn't register until he's on the steps up what he must have looked like. A well dressed man in fancy clothes leading an attractive and desperate looking girl about in Loveland at night.

Great., he winces, switching his Reflexes off, Now they think I'm recruiting her for a mob run whorehouse. At least they'll quit bothering me when I walk by.

Stopping in the hall he turns to the girl. "Wait here a moment" Sizing up the girl, Doc stabs the buttons on the vending machine and a set of flats sealed in plastic drop to the bottom of the chute.
"Okay here we are." Doc fumbles the key into the 'quaint' old mechanical lock to his apartment and swing the door open. "It isn't much, but it's home. Uh, you can call me Doc."

Doc Leads her to the bathroom and places her hand on the folding door of the tiny shower stall "Here, you can get yourself cleaned up. Soap and shampoo are on a shelf on your left. Right-hand knob is the hot water. There's a towel on the back of the bathroom door. Oh, and I got you some flats to put on for now." he says, holding up the package, waggling it to rustle the plastic then placing it on the sink. "You can stay here tonight, I'll dig up an old Jacket for you in the morning. It'll be big on you, but it'll keep you warm. Then maybe we can find you a women's shelter in the morning. How does that sound?"

Shutting the bathroom door he calls back, "Oh, you should probably only use warm water, not hot, in case you have frostbite. Afterwards I can check you for injuries, I'm, uh... a nurse."
Facepalming Nice John, that wasn't the creepiest thing you've ever said to a girl. She's probably trying to pry the bars off the bathroom window.

I should call Siobhan, maybe she knows a good shelter. This girl's an elf, she'll help her...

[Abschalten]

[16:35 January 1st, 2072; Everton Suites 6A, Seattle]
After Ultima had finished wiring the balcony (and the front door) with traps, she took a moment to celebrate her move up in the world. Leaning against the railing on the balcony, she had watched the sun make its slow, incremental descent down into the ocean and vanish, smoking cigarettes as she enjoyed the show.

If ever I doubt that God had made this to be such a beautiful world, all I have to do is watch the sunset, and my faith is reaffirmed.

With a final puff of her cigarette, the woman flicked the butt off into the distance and then went back inside.

She decided tonight she was going to go into the city, maybe to drum up some work, or to make contacts. Too long she had been living in that hellhole on the edge of the Barrens, partially as a penance, partially to hide or maybe lose herself in it. Though dire circumstances (completely self-inflicted ones at that) had uprooted her and caused her to flee, maybe it was a blessing in disguise. Already she was happier, if almost completely broke. It could be a turning point, this day.

The commlink still showed no messages. Abdul must not have gotten her voicemail yet, or if he did he was perhaps too busy. Ultima did recall in the handful of times she had met the eccentric former jihadist in person that he had seemed quite the workaholic, juggling multiple commcalls while checking the specs on orders she had placed with him. Still, he was worth waiting for. In the end he always came through.

With an inward sigh she undressed and went into the bathroom. She started the shower and let it run so that the water would warm up before she stepped in. The tiled floor was cold beneath her bare feet, and she wrinkled her toes against the surface to try and warm them. But her attention wasn't necessarily on the floor, but on the face staring back at her in the mirror.

The scars I remember. All those close calls, it's a wonder I'm not dead yet. But... when did I start to look so... tired? These dark spots under my eyes, I never used to have these. I look so thin, like I'm sick, wasting away. Mierda, how did I get like this?

Ultima stared disbelievingly at herself in the mirror until the steam from the shower created an obscuring film over the image, causing her reflection to spread out into an unrecognizable, fuzzy blob of color. Wiping it away did no good, leaving smears and streaks of condensation that caused the image to only get worse.

With another sigh she entered the hot spray of the shower, nearly oblivious to the fact that the hot water was turned up all the way. With the way some of her Talents went, she barely felt it. A normal person would have run out of the tub screaming, but she merely rested her head against the wall and let the water rinse off the day's dirt, anxiety, and apprehension. For a while she just stood there and watched through a steamy fog as the water circled the drain and then vanished.

---------

[17:40]
The woman suited up in the manner she did when going out into a dangerous and unpredictable world. She wore her full body Urban Explorer suit, covered over with a light knee-length trenchcoat that served to hide any contraband she tended to take with her. A thigh holster strapped around her leg held her trusty, modified Ruger, and a hidden pocket in the coat held a couple of spare speedloaders. A pair of goggles and a nearly mandatory rebreather did much to obscure her face while still maintaining a facade of being a normal, law-abiding citizen. A backwards Seattle Seahawks cap served to hide her hair while making her appear to be just a normal denizen of this city, helping her to blend in. Last but not least she grabbed a small pack of pocket electronics tools, held together in a beige plastic casing, just in case she came across anything that her other Talents could help her with.

Ultima gave herself a final glance in the bathroom mirror. Satisfied, she then walked out the front door, shutting it behind her, and with a thought she activated the "safety measures" she had put into place.

Time to see what we can find.

[Aria]

04:32 January 1st, 2072; Tradition Lake View, Apartment 6-3, Renton

Silk stretched and her jaws creaked as she stifled a yawn. Well, that had been a good start to the new year after all! Summer seemed like a nice kid and Aria was Aria, she’d enjoyed the company and the game had been fun. They’d even managed to make some progress on an imaginary run and they could pick up where they’d left off later in the week.

She stumbled over to the couch and collapsed on it without bothering to fold it out in to a bed, wincing as the dust wafted out…she’d have to get up again all to soon, during the run she’d decided it was past time to get a new place and dump this shit hole…but that would need some cash. She had asked Aria to keep an eye out on ShadowSEA for a job that might suit her and before she succumbed to sleep she sent a quick text to Bishop.

<<Morning. Hope you’ve been enjoying the holiday. Do you have anything going that I could help with? I could do with a new crash pad. Call you soon. S >>

[Abschalten]

Silk
[12:15 January 1st, 2072; Tradition Lake View, Apartment 6-3, Renton]

Silk slept soundly on the couch, the only noises in the apartment being the patter of a light drizzle on the windowpanes and her soft, feminine snores. While daytime activity was in full swing outside and on the street, she was still recovering from her Matrix gaming binge from the night before, and taking full advantage of the fact that school was out, at least until the new semester started in a couple more weeks.

While Silk worked on her eighth hour of sleep, the commlink next to her on the floor begin to vibrate. A brief, tinkling chime and a blinking blue LED indicated that a message had been sent to her account, waiting to be read.

The message was a text, from Mr. Bishop himself, in response to the one she had sent before bed.

<<Ms. Waters,>> it began. Mr. Bishop was one of the handful in contact with the local shadow community who knew her name, but he'd always been on the level with her, and gave no indication that he would use such privileged information against her. In fact, despite his occasional departures from law and order, he seemed to be a regular librarian who encouraged hard work and research in order to excel in academia.

<<I wasn't expecting to hear from you during Winter Break. I always thought students were eager to be away as much as possible. But as it stands I have, indeed, come across something that needs doing. Come down to the campus library in person, say around 13:30? We'll talk there. The library's officially closed but the door will be open for you. And Ms. Waters, wear that lovely dress you had on a few weeks ago. It was...interesting.>>

Half the time he acted all paternal towards Silk, like a mentor or a guide, and the other half of the time he was a dirty old lech. The dichotomy was unnerving, especially since he could go from one routine to the other without warning or notice. He did keep his hands to himself, though; if he toed the line of etiquette, he at least never crossed it.

[Solon]

[21:15: Friday, January 1, 2072: Shitty 2nd floor walk-up above a "Massage Parlour", Lovetown, Puyallup]

The girl was cleaning herself up in the bathroom while Doc wrestled with his supposed "fold out" loveseat. A twitch of his eye brought the soft blue of his chronometer.
Siobhán should be off shift soon...

Pulling up his contacts list Doc scrolled to the elf's picture and winked at the "msg" icon
Siobhán, it's John. Found a homeless elf girl, young, no winter clothes. Staying at my place tonight, need help. Do you know any women's shelters in Tarislar she could go to?

It had taken two months before she had even addressed him by name, the elves in Tarislar had long memories and some righteous grudges. Doc couldn't blame them after what they'd been through, but it made working there hard for a human. He worked hard and fought off gangers looking to score drugs with the rest of the staff. One thing he'd learned in the military, you fight by a man's side long enough it doesn't matter what he looks like or how many horns there are on his head. Still, the staff was wary of him, he'd always be an outsider there.
Sighing Doc slumped into his armchair and pulled up an old friend, his worn and dog-eared copy of Herodotus, to wait for the girl to finish, sending a quick order to his food processor to make more soykaf as an afterthought.